At the sixth floor he peeled himself off the supporting wall, and with Paul's hand under his elbow started down the corridor. He thought about telling Paul he didn't need the hand and decided he couldn't spare the breath.
Doc Phillips' white shirt was dazzling in the light. “Get him out of those rags, Paul, so I can see what I'm doing.”
“'S nothin', Doc. Scratch. 'N rap on the head.”
The doctor grunted finally as he swabbed and probed. “For once you seem to be right. And a concussion, probably.”
“No concussion. Little headache. Paul?”
“Yes?”
“Bourbon in the closet.”
“You want a chaser?”
“Spit in the glass a couple of times.” The doctor was unwinding gauze. “Never mind the bandages, Doc. Little tape will do; thanks, Paul.”
“Listen, tough guy-”
“Save the, speeches for the patients, Doc. I said tape. Paul?”
“Yes, Johnny?”
“Skip on down to the switchboard like a good fella and send Sally up here? Somethin' I've gotta know.” He drank deeply from the glass in his hand, waited for the impact, shuddered, and drank again.
Doctor Phillips pressed a final bit of adhesive into place and stepped back and looked at Johnny. “Purely as a matter of professional curiosity, with what am I competing these days in my effort to keep you stitched together?”'
“I wish to God I knew, Doc. Nobody made any speeches, although come to think of it I didn't give 'em much of a chance. Both those boys were pretty good operators with the off end of a gun.”
The doctor shook his head and indicated the drink in Johnny's hand. “I'd dilute that prescription a little, if I were you.”
“You stick to the needles and saws, Doc.”
“I want to see you in the morning. I want a look at that jaw when the swelling subsides. You could have a hairline fracture.”
“You know better'n that, Doc.”
“You come by my office anyway. I want to X ray. And I-let-“
Two sharp raps barely preceded Sally's flying entrance. The thin face was anxious, and the brown eyes apprehensive. “Johnny-”
“All right, ma. Take it smaller. Thanks, Doc.”
“Don't forget I want to see you in the morning. Goodnight. Goodnight, Sally.”
“Goodnight, Doctor Phillips.” She closed the door behind him, and turned immediately.
“Save it, ma. I know it all by heart.”
“But what are you up to now-?”
“You got the list?”
“L-look at you-!”
“Now quit blubberin', or I'll penalize you fifteen yards.”
“But what
“Well, now, I'll tell you. You never saw a blonde could run like this one, but I was gainin' when she ducked around a corner. I made the corner on a wheel an' a half and zowie! She lowered the boom on me. Them blondes are hittin' mighty good these days.”
“I should have known better than to ask you. Are you all right?”
“My knees hurt worse than anything else.”
“That ought to curtail your most prominent activity.”
“You come up in the morning, and I'll show you different.”
“You're kidding.”
“Kiddin', hell. We'll let you drive the wagon. You ought to earn your way once in a while, anyway.”
“You get out of the gutter. As far as possible, that is.”
“Yes, ma. You got that list?”
She handed it to him silently, and he ran down it quickly, then tapped it in his palm thoughtfully while she watched him. “The one you're looking for's not on there?”
“That's right. Maybe-” He frowned down at the list.
“Just as a point of information, five minutes after you left Fussy Freddie came downstairs and opened up his office and made a call on his direct line.”
“He did, huh? Joe Dameron is missing a good bet in you, kid.”
“He's the name you expected to see?”
“I wish I could answer that. I can't figure him. In my time I've seen a few hundred tough guys. If this is a tough guy, it's a new kind.”
“Johnny, what's going on around here?”
“Baby, it'll be a pleasure to tell you the minute I find out.”
“You mean you're fighting with people you don't know, and you don't know why, either?”
“You know me, ma. You didn't expect me to go at it intelligently, did you?”
“You just won't tell me.”
“I'm tickled to death to have you think so. You better run along now, ma … I need to rest my eyes a little.”
When she had gone he finished the bourbon, rubbed his jaw gently, and considered the ruins of his uniform on the floor.
This campaign is sure hell on the haberdashery, he thought.
He stripped the bed, walked stiff-leggedly to the bathroom and washed up, placed cigarettes and matches on the night table, and eased himself cautiously between the sheets. His head throbbed steadily as he lit a cigarette and lay back gently on the propped-up pillow. He stared blankly up at the ceiling and mentally shuffled and re- shuffled the possibilities in his mind.
It was a long time before he put out the light.
Chapter IV
The cold water faucet needed a washer, Johnny noted; he rough-palmed his wet hair tighter to his skull and walked out into the bedroom. The clock on Maria Stevens' night table said twelve forty five; he bent down over the bed and laid a hand lightly on her shoulder. “So long, kid.”
She sat up with a start. “Goodness! I must have dozed off-” She swung her legs over the side of the bed and felt for her slippers as a small palm smothered a yawn. “Oh, my! It's the hour, not the company, believe me. I do hate to see you go.”
“You'll be back again before you know it.”
“Not that quickly, unfortunately.” She walked with him to the door, and the sleepy look on the plain features evaporated as the mild eyes inspected again the tape on his face. “I certainly hope that the police find whoever did that to you. It's criminal that such things can happen!”
He grinned at her. “You sound just like somebody else I know-”
“It makes me uneasy. If a thing like that can happen right in the neighborhood, are the children safe when we bring them here? After all, there's-”
“Now don't go givin' the hotel a bum rap because of somethin' that happened to me,” Johnny broke in quickly. “I shouldn't have told you about it.”
“You didn't tell me about it,” she said spiritedly. “I had to drag it out of you a word at a time. Anyway, if I know Ronald Frederick he'll give the police no rest until they clear it up.”
